“A-are you sure? I can really have something so good…!?”
“It’s not that big of a deal. But it’s definitely not something with bad performance either.”
Meanwhile, someone spoke to Mizari’s opponent.
It was one of the hero prospects, Shian Feir… Like Zenon and Isaac, he reincarnated from another world. And now, he was giving Verber a present.
This flat thing that gave off a dull silver shine was a metal breastplate.
It was light, but had a coating of magic energy. Verber gulped, understanding its potential as soon as he saw it, and Shian smiled.
“I’m glad you like it, it’s yours. You don’t have to give it back after the duel.”
“Eh!? R-really!?”
“Yes. Just keep it a secret that you got it from me. If the others hear about it, I’ll have to give stuff like it to them too.”
Shian’s generosity left Verber at a loss for words, and he nodded deeply at the request that came after.
Shian also nodded, happy with the response, and Verber asked an obvious question.
“S-so, why are you giving something this good to me?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s simple. I just want a fair duel. You know how I gave Mizari materials before? If she reinforced her equipment with them, that wouldn’t be fair to you, would it? This breastplate is to make up for that.”
“I-I see…!!”
Verber seemed convinced by Shian’s answer.
Yes… The hero prospect who abandoned Mizari was Shian.
Shian Feir… Real name Mizuiro Manaka. A completely average gamer before being reincarnated.
The one thing that set him apart from average gamers was doing challenge runs, but even then, he was not too feverishly into it, or restricted himself in any crazy way. Other than being completely ignored by girls, he really was a completely normal games player, so he mostly just did things for fun.
He stuck to this after being guided into this world by god, and had fun interacting with game characters, getting close to beautiful girls, and overall enjoying his life as a hero while building a harem… His mind was filled with such desires, until recently, when another craving grew inside him.
It happened with his duel against Isaac. Losing to him made a sense of danger boil inside him, which led him to seriously set out to conquer this world, in order for him to have the last laugh.
…Or perhaps it was assassinating Isaac during that recent mess that removed the limiters from his sense of reasoning.
Either way, at this point, he thought about beating the other reincarnated students and stealing the show, completely drowning in his avarice.
When he first met Mizari, it was for the reason mentioned earlier, to add to his harem.
She was far from his favorite, but still plenty cute, so he wanted to keep her as his second or third girl. But after losing to Isaac, his priorities shifted to making sure he was on secure footing.
As a result, he immediately abandoned Mizari, which was part of why she lost her confidence.
He was pretty into Luminous History, so he knew each character’s abilities and their precise tier.
On a scale from S to C, Mizari was ranked right at the bottom, C.
―――――――――――――――
Mizari Pym… C rank.
A character that can be recruited in the early stages, but has a fundamental lack of power. If trained with love, she can exhibit considerable power, but the time and effort it takes to get there means it’s much easier to train a few top tier characters.
―――――――――――――――
…That was what Shian read online, meaning other players did not recommend her either.
If he recruited her, she would be in his second or third group as a party member, and all he remembered about her was putting her out there for fun, just to laugh at her lack of power.
If Shian focused too much on her, the other reincarnated students would take most of the other, better girls. He had no time to spend on a weakling, so he mercilessly abandoned her.
However, now that he secured his position to a certain extent, he was free to once again play with Mizari.
That was why he approached Verber, to use their duel to his advantage.
For some reason, she was getting chummy with the scum called Yuugo.
First, he needed to get her away from him, and then approach her smoothly. That was why Verber had to win.
The broken-hearted Mizari would leave Yuugo, and the event between himself and her that was left unfinished could restart.
Despite her lack of power in battle, she was cute enough to be kept as a harem member, so he gave Verber a nice piece of equipment to get her back.
“With this breastplate, there’s no way Mizari’s attacks will work! I can beat that weakling easily!”
“Good luck. I’m counting on you!”
Verber breathed rapidly with excitement, and Shian cheered him on with a fake smile.
Being cheered on by a prospective hero roused Verber more as he left, and Shian revealed his true colors as he watched him go.
“Do your best for my sake, mob character. Unlike Mizari, I don’t need you at all.”
A side character should serve the main character. Mizari was also a game character, but a mob character like Verber was worth even less than her.
And so, Shian thought he should at least be used as a pawn to fulfill his goals. Both Verber and Mizari were but game characters, dancing on the palm of the hand of a main character who could decide their fates.
“Oh well, with that equipment, Verber’s gonna win for sure. I just have to wait. I’ll go sleep and wait for the results…!”
His job was done. All he had to do was wait for the good news in a week.
And it was with those delusions in mind that Shian made his way back to his dorm.
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